The packaging of mattresses for shipping, distribution, handling and eventual sale presents a formidable challenge given the size and nature of the product. Mattresses are too large for practical packaging in a separate container such as a box, yet must have substantial protection from damage and soiling to maintain the “as new” condition required for retail marketing and sale. This has led to the widespread use of heavier gauge plastic film as a wrapping material which encapsulates the mattress. The formation of a plastic film package about a mattress has been automated, as descried for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,934,041, 6,178,723 and 6,273,257. These packages typically produce a fused seam of the plastic sheet material about the perimeter of the mattress which, although strong enough to keep the sealed plastic package intact, does not provide any greater barrier than the inherent strength of the plastic sheet material. The strength of this type of packaging is in many instances inadequate to protect the product completely from the factory to final installation in a purchaser's bedroom. This is largely due to the substantial size and weight of modern day mattresses, and the handling tendency to stock and move the so-packaged mattress along the peripheral border. Because such package has no built-in gripping points, the plastic material is further stressed by gripping of a section of material by the handlers. Once the plastic is torn, either as a result of such handling or from abrasion, the mattress upholstery is readily exposed to soiling and damage, which significantly reduces the retail value or even prevents retail sale of the product. Given the substantially cost and handling requirements of these types of products, returns and recalls due to failure of the packaging are extremely costly to the manufacturer.
Thus there is a need for a mattress package which provides adequate protection while providing convenient gripping points and which utilizes a minimal amount of material.